Shock absorber for automobiles and the like



} Abri'l'ls, 1926. I

s. RAMSEY SHOCK ABSORBER FOR AUTOMOBILES AND THE LIKE Filed Nov. 21, 1919 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 4 She etkshaqf. 2

G. RAMSEY Apfil 13,1926.

I SHOCK FOR AUTO IOBILES AND THE LIKE Filed Nov, 21, 1919 mmn i hdm \m V; A

\\\\\\\\\\\ llll-fl II-IIH I April 13,1926. 1,580,327

G. RAMSEY SHOCK ABSORBER FOR AUTOMOBILES AND THE LIKE Filed Nov. 2 1919 4 sheats-Sheet .5

April 13 1926.

. 1,580,327 a. RAMSEY SHOCK ABSORBER FOR AUTOMQEILES AND THE LIKE Filed NOV. 21, 1919 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 MIIHHHHHI Patented Apr 13, 1926.

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snodx AESo BER FOR AU'rtmbisfL-iis Afiiiwnn mini,

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Be it nQ H v oiliz'eiiof @1 6 U i d: stints? B W- 13 fl e ofu t'yo Kiing,- S ate-.01? New York have inyentocl ggrtain 'i ew an cl The principal object of thop 'eseilt invefj:

tion'is topiovlde a shock aUso-fibi fg systm "i 'eaiitiofi the ro-visibnf to absorb vibration transmitted through the propii-ls oii ii'ieolizinism. h Another 0b1ect of the present Invention is sliock absorbing constructionadapted; pi'iv nmrily' for automobiles wlierein interoai bonzengiiies and the like absoibecl and transmitted as siibstz'iiiti'allj 'oii'st'aiit forces; o V

Aiiotlieitflafil ifnportaiit object of the pr nt' invention is' ELSlICk abs o rl e r'momi-tecl iii the lin ofimris'missioii bot-Ween tho sourc'o 01"". power anjtl tho driv- Whlsv ii Sflllh in'annei that torsional vibrations; set fqi in the clrivo nieclmiiiisiif, die to, an UIICVBlB loziliiafig-ar '(fl JS'OIl JQd 51nd: not trins'mittecl t hioiigh' tli source 01"" pow e1 to the vehicle Ahothei aiicl im poi-ti'nt object of the pres e'nt inweiition; is a sliocli' absorbing sys'tex'n for automobiles and the? like Wlirein 613 tidal viln-alioiisyof the chassis "flicme ila- Figure 2 1S? sectional: View Applicatioh iile'd llbvemlier 21 Srial No.

S l 11101761.,sp fic allyl t i i' A 1. ientiq ite t s to; Pro din a 'i i i h k b rbing s s i asii imi fli fi i iii th es ta pf h .sys fe i i i fei =i the torque on the propeller shaft inoi a ss in] S UCl1; 111 I 11 1QF that it is impossible to reaoh t'h ili nit of eflioiency tlie shoe zibsorbing djo vice This iiiye it-ion pos$osse$maiij otlii f airiffl V dva i ge fl fi -Ems, sQ1 .Q, wh h we a h wit ,th' i i more at lgngtl inihe following d'g sic iptio h in ll be 0 -tlinie n ziii' lzth it 01m f h fin. *e i 'lwv ich ,112.? :i fi qqt 'd f r f lu$ mti ni in. he. rwii oq s..zi coiilpihy fi z gl forming a part of the present specification; .1. H ;ij.flifl.

i I tho d wi g describ only th gene mie 'ibni.

i ihail do otil vn l y l to su h fQr m. b

e: my .7 in ent n b emb di'q a multiplicity of f01 s, t bo l ng unde stoocl by the clfaimfs .g icdec ling'tlio cle s'o iption of my iilveilt-i'onfjthgitl cle$i e ;to v c'oyor tho i ventio'n in whatsoever form it may be-em-i bodied or practiced,- ef n W t .t eildr i ing whlz inj. like p arts are do ignited by like c:h :;1,.racters 'tlirouglio-i t jL'llQSQYQlfll tlie lfeof,

, r 91 1 2 1 i glizimfatiri;@1 ti ation of, propuls on and s u sp'ens onf cleg vvics of an automobile in which myinvenllOIL 1s, in'ol decl;

the flywheeloianongino as soo ted wit l vg clutch afictsho winfg a lZQl-f. Ion fr ct on sho-ok absorbei, ooiiipriging at part of my invention, nioilnt'ed in'the flywheel; Y

Assxguon TO snir-wzfimfa vigonizm goin w l 'bw l 2 1? Figure. 3zis zi-"soctional vi' w takenon liii'o 3-.3 of Fig11' e 2;; o gFigufB 4 is" a: side View of tllq friction shock-absorbing unit removed from th Figure! 5 at Cll'a gfiatlll'lllcl t lQ:Yliil" illiis; trating tho rel at (mi ofipa ts of the fr ct on shofck-aborbing unit cli'iriiigg ts opalati'o Figufe 6 is diagrammatic iew showing "rjelative' increase of 'isitanoe as thle' angular relatioi'i morons (5s betw ni s ns o t-$1.16 posito si'cls of the, mu giii; om rismgr layout of the forces generated from the diagrammatic views 5 and 6 and illustrating the Zones of action covered by the friction ele ments of the shock-absorber.

I-Ieretofore in the art of auto-mobiles and the like, shock-absorbers have been proposed bet-ween the vehicle body and the road wheel support in such manner as to absorb vehicle vibrations due to the unevenness of the roadway and connections between the road wheels and the vehicle body. In the prior use of such shock absorbing devices the vehicle has been treated as functioning in the same manner as the ordinary horse-drawn buggy, and without reference to the fact that there is a connection directly between the drive wheels and the vehicle body through the propulsion shaft. In an automobile the vertical movement of the body, on the body springs, relative to the road wheels causes an arcuate movement of the propulsion shaft which is translated into horizontal vibration when the ordinary clutch is in. V] hen the clutch is set, or in, the propulsion shaft is not free to turn, consequently the upand-down movement of the front end of the shaft causes the shaft to act as a lever which turns the road wheel shafts forwardly when the front end of the propulsion sha t descends, and turns these shafts backwardly when it rises, thus producing an oscillatory movement in the road wheel shafts when there is a relative vertical movement between the road wheels and the chassis frame or body. Therefore any suspended automobile body, even if the suspension be so perfect as to absorb direct vertical shocks, will nevertheless be subject to considerable vibration when running over an uneven roadway due to this leverage action of the propulsion shaft, and vibration thus produced is particularly uncomfortable because it is a horizontal vibration. There is also a vertical vibration set up due to the propeller shaft connection. The vertical vibration is pril'narily caused when running over rough roads by the tendency of the road wheels to either slow down or speed up, relative to the speed of the engine. Vfhen the road wheels tend to run faster than the speed of the engine, as where the wheel is dropping off of a bump, there is a pull downwardly on the forward end of the propeller shaft, and this pulls the body down on the body springs. Where the road wheels encounter unusual resistance, as cliu'ibing over a ridge, the pull of the engine causes a tendency for the gear of the propeller shaft to roll up on the driven gear and therefore a lift is produced upon the forward end of the propeller shaft. This upward thrust of course tends to lift the body from the road wheels. These combined movements through the propeller shaft establish vibrations which cannot be absorbed by the body sus pension springs acting alone as in horse.

tent. These power impulses are transmitted in a certain degree as intermittent forces. These intermittent forces cause horizontal and vertical vibrations due partly to the action previously specified and partly to the intermittent character of the power itself.

ll am aware that spring couplers have been inserted in the propeller shafts of automobile construction. Spring couplers, however, are not shock-absorbersbut act as storehouses for the energy received and transmit shocks which are delivered to the coupler. Furthermore, a spring coupler tends to change the back pressure or torque on the crank shaft of the engine in such manner as to interfere with the timing mechanism and other operating features of the engine. Spring couplers in some cases accentuate rather than alleviate the conditions specified, and therefore spring couplers have not proved successful in solving the problems above outlined.

The present invention overcomes the difficulties of the known art by providing a shock-absorber wherein vibration is completely absorbed within the shock-absorber itself, by being transformed into heat and then dissipated or otherwise eliminated. This may be done by a friction shock-ab sorber, or by air cushions comprising radial ly operated pistons, or otherwise. In the preferred form springs are utilizedto establish a normal zone of operations for the device and the friction elements establish a neutral zone so that it will be noted that any vibration, the energy of which lies between the eXtreme limits of the neutral Zones, will be absorbed by friction. This fact is moreclearly shown by reference to Figures 5, 6 and 7.

Referring now to the drawings, and more especially to Figure 1, which diagran'nnatically illustrates an automobile chassis and propulsion system, the chassis frame 1 car ries a prime mover 2, which may comprise a suitable hydrocarbon engine or other power plant, and which may be provided with a flywheel 4, and connected to a suitable clutch 5. lVhere the range of control of the power system is not sufficient to obtain the desired range of speeds, a gear box 6 is comi'i'ionly provided, which comprises an arrangement carrying the desired gearing and these gears are usually controlled by a control lever 7 A propulsion shaft is generally connected. by means of a universal. oint connection 8, with the prime mover, and where a gear set is used, the universal joint is usually adjacent the gear box, as is illustrated in Figure 1. This propulsion shaft usually extends through a casing or sheath 9 and terminates in a "gear meshing with o'difierential drive of the chassis andantoniobilebody 16. Snitf ge e1: within the housing- 10.; The differential gee-r connects .the road-wheei-sha fts :11 in such manner that power is trsnsmitted directly to the driving rond-wheels 12; Snitable rear springs 14 connect the rears-x1e with the Chassis Zframe in'the ma'nner that is zibl e spring suspension members 17 likewise connect the front axles Q8 with the front end of the chassis frame and prefembly triction shock-absorbers 19 are; disposed between the front axle end-the front endof the chassis body to :absorb undue vibration in the same manne1' -i11-*Whiehthe rear absorbers lfo-act. The constructions which-have previously" been generally deseribed are mechanical dei iceswell know'n {in the autoino'biie art and it is believedj to be unnecessary} to e'nable one skilled in ithe-art to practice the present inventio n togo into details in connection with such mechanical upsets.

' An important element in the present in- 'vention is e torsion friction shockebso-rber 1nounted in the line of power transinission between the prnne moverand themed- =whee1s insuch manner-that all energy transmission, between the road wheels and the chassis frame through the motor orprim'e mover, transmitted through the torsion ttrietion shock-absorber. In'the present 61H- l jodinient this torsion shock-absorber unit is "ithlstrzte-ti as being llTlOUlflGdiIl the flywheel of the motor:tind re'terence is now made he? bolts-o1" other securing means.

higures' z 3, and; 1 0i the drawiings; "-Dhe powerishmft :20 to carr ies :1- cnp-shaped member 21- 'whioh is provided w-ith' n thi-ek rimns ntQQ-a-nd thereior'e is 111d sptedto ifiniction as the fiywhe'el of" the engine;

by a 'stiibserew 3Z4or-ohersuitehle co'nnecting hie-ens. The-rim 22 carriesfle fa'ee piste 25 whichis sei 'eweti thereto by-si'iitebie stub A- neniher '21 end the i'iaee plate 'are provided with recesses into which "stub ax'l'esfl'? links 25 extend. These "links are attached at their outer en'tremities to wrist"pins '29 Flhese ariti-triction rolls-' which wi i-st pins carry 31- fthz'rit '-H.1'5' positioned ere giiitied in =s iots inhia'lh in sustaining f r-zrme 32;; Friction biooksB i are carried' by the;wrist pinsfleo andere-mounted within, tofbe guided by, the side-wells of'thereteini'ng .frame 32.

ithst the "engine This flywheel 11] ember nut-y be secured to the power ;-si'1aft by: being screw threaded thereon; and held in position I t'retes that during such;

These friction blocks 34 cooperate with spring supporting blocks .35 which are urged inwardly by means of springs 36; The iretoining frame shaft37 ithet isxnionntedxt'o rotate .a'boutnn extension 3801! :the .POWBIiShfiift 20.

il he tnbuiar shaft 37 gis illustrated in the iniembe-r Z40 of the clutch chltch and a cone :the extension 88 is mounted :to :rota'te fupon of the; power shaft.

normally held n z-engagemont with the cup 39 by means ofleconwspring 4'1 whioh ris supported upon a ball-bearing :eonstruetion (in the :a'i't relatingzito v are. adapted to *besteered through a suitable steering wheel 47,1111 of which is common practice in the automobile art. I

Referring agztilrtoFigures 2, 3; and igjiand essnming the ohitch to be 'in fiit will be notedthat the power transmitted iroin the power shaft 7 20 to the ehr't'oh imp 39 is trans- 32 'is provideti'with aiatuhiilar' "m k as o This icone onemher iis i 'niitted through theto rsi'on shook-absorbing unit. In trensinitting such the power to the tubular -sh2tft37. This *turningmovee ment'carriesthe StIIbnXIBS'QTDf thei iin'ks 28 forward relatively to the hnks causes the tor-Ward movement of the the wrist pins to move toward thewxis vot the power shaft; This inovement of 'the wrist pins isdirectly communicated" to the friction blocks-34E and-the inward movement of these blocks causes the spring-supporting blocks to more outwardly it go inst the presitorsimel rforces sha ft 20 :tends to turn relatiyely sure springs During this movement :a considerable amount of energy 18 absorbed I as: friction "between the contacting surfaces of the blocks 34 and '35. It is "toj be noted that the notion of the device is -independen't of the direction of rotation eat the driving shaft, that is, the device cts the same 'wise or counter-clockwise.- The 1 iridtion lood, or trietion' absorption of' force, is a factor which 'operates overr and above the power of the springs a nd" actually absorbs a certain amount of theenergy fwheth'er the driving sha ft be rotated oioeie ris which is trans mittedto the dew-ice as sudden jerks or r vibrations such ns are developed; in the openation-of aim-automobile.

' Reierring now to Figures 5, 6,and"7, it will be noted that Figure-'5 is u diegra'inot the action of the ports mentof 221/: degrees, 45. degrees, and degrees between-the power ssha it 01m tlubuhrr shait 3T.

e-ngu'hir movement the wrist pins heave moved from theposition of rest Xto the position Y; and that while for' angular move the actual resisting forces act radiall from the axis of the power shaft, the effective resistance forces act at an angle to such radii. Figure 6 is illustrative of the increase of the resistance of the device as the angularity between the power shaft 20 and the tubular shaft 37 increases. The resistance line a, which represents the normal position of parts, is equivalent to the resistance of the coil springs 36 plus the resistance due to the friction between the blocks 34: and 35, and the action of the resistance is radial. Resistance line b is the hypothenuse of a tri angle, the vertical line of which is equal to the radial thrust outwardly on the wrist pins 29 when the links are disposed at an angle 1" to the radial line of resistance, and when the angularity between the shaft 20 and the tubular shaft 38 is 22 degrees. The resistance line (2 indicates the effective resistance in a. similar manner when the angularity between these shafts is 45 degrees and the angle of the links is S. The resistance line (Z in like manner indicates the effective resistance when the angularity of the shafts is 67 degrees and the angle at which the link operates is the angle 2,. It thereforeis apparent that the resistance increases very rapidly as the angularity between the parts increases gradually.

eferring now to Figure 7 which is a chart showing the operation of the novel shockabsorber, the abscissa represents the angular displacement between the power shaft 20 and the tubular shaft 37, the ordinate represents the resistance. The lower heavy line M represents the line of resistance due to the sole action of the springs 36. The upper line N is the line of resistance due to the combined action of the s rings and the friction devices. It will be noted that the area between these lines is the area covered by the friction action. Therefore it follows that any force which falls within this area will be completely absorbed by the friction element and will not be transmitted through the power shaft. This, therefore, comprises a zone of complete neutrality as far as shock is concerned and covers the area of roadwheel shocks that produce undesirable vibration. llhealriving torsion is transmitted without diminution after the original impulse is absorbed, which carries the illJSOI'lTP ing devices to a point of re stance equivalent to sustaining the power transmitted.

In view of the foregoing explanation it is clear that road-wheel shocks, or shocks originating in the prime mover, which other wise would transmit vibrations to the body of the automobile, are completely absorbed without destroying the power transmitted. Shocks .due to the bouncing of the automobile body relative to the road-wheels, and which would be transmitted as horizontal vibrations, are also likewlse absorbed. It therefore appears 'tably mounted within the that the torsion shoekabsorbing devices operate in combination with the body suspension shock-absorbing devices, and the body of the automobile is completely relieved of the shocks which otherwise would be transmitted through, or originate because of, the action between the driving power and the road-wheels. Furthermore it will be noted that the present device takes up the severe stresses which are set up in the driving mechanism when the clutch is quickly locked, as often occurs with inexperienced drivers.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is:

1. As an article of manufacture, a friction torsional shock absorber for automobiles and the like comprising a casing, a frame rotatably mounted within the said casing, friction blocks radially movable within said frame, certain of said friction blocks being spring pressed, and means connecting said casing with certain of said friction blocks in such manner as to slide said blocks one upon another when said frame is displaced by angular movement relative to said casing.

2. As an article of manufacture, a friction torsional shock absorber for automobiles and the like comprising a casing, a frame mounted within the said casing, and rotatable on the occurrence of a torsional shock triangular friction blocks within said frame, certain of said friction blocks being spring pressed, and means connecting said casing with certain of said friction blocks and with said frame in such manner as to slide said blocks one upon another when said frame is displaced by angular movement relative to said casing.

3. As an article of manufacture, a friction torsional shock absorber for automobiles and the like comprising a casing, a frame rotasaid casing, friction blocks within said frame, certain of said friction blocks being spring pressed, and

means comprising swinging links connecting said casing with certain of said friction blocks and with said frame in such manner as to slide said blocks one upon another when said frame is displaced by angular .movement relative to said casing.

4-. As an article of manufacture, a friction torsional shock absorber for automobiles and the like con'iprisii'ig a casing, a. frame rota t-ably mounted within. the said casing, triangular friction blocks radially movable within said frame, certain of said friction blocks being spring pressed, and means c0mprising swinging links connecting said cas ing with certain of said friction blocks and with said frame in such manner as to slide said blocks one upon 7 another when said frame is displaced by angular movement relative to said casing.

5. In an automobile and the like, a source of power, driven means, a friction torsion shock absorber'comprising a casing member operatively connected with the source of power, a framefoperatively connected with the driven means and having a limited rotative movement relatively to said casing, springs constructed to resist angular displacement of said'frame relative to said casing, and friction means comprising triangular blocks cooperating with adapted to absorb a portion of tending to displace the casing relative to the frame.

6. In an automobile and the like, a source of power, driven means, a friction shock absorber comprising a casing member operatively connected with the source of power, a frame mounted within said casing and 0peratively connected with the driven means and having a limited rotative movement relatively to said casing, springs constructed to resist angular displacement of said frame the energy angularly relative to said casing, and friction means blocks cooperating comprising triangular with said springs and adapted to absorb a portion of the energy tending to displace the casing angularly relative to the frame.

7 A propeller shaft shock absorber for automobiles and the like comprising a frame member adapted to be connected to the source of power, a second frame member adapted to be connected to the driven means, springs and swing-link connections between said frame members so that the rotation of one frame member relative to the other isresisted, and friction means adapted to assist said springs to resist the rotation of one of said members relative to the other and to absorb vibratory energy being transmitted to either of said frames.

8. A propeller shaft shock absorber for ,member adapted to be said springs and automobiles and the like comprising a frame connected to the source of power, a second frame adapted to be connected to the driven means, springs and swing-link connections between said frame members so that the rotation of one frame member relative to the other is resisted, and friction means comprising radially movable blocks adapted to assist said springs to resist the'rotation of one of said members relative to the other and to absorb vibratory forces being transmitted to either of said frames.

9. In an automobile or the like, the combination of driving means comprising an engine and a propeller shaft, a torsional friction shock absorber operatively connecting the engine with the propeller shaft, said shock absorber comprising a plurality of triangular blocks, radiallyv acting springs normally 'retamlng said blocks under compression, and operative means constructed to slide certain of said blocks oneupon another and to compress said springs when the engine is operative upon the propulsion shaft.

10. In an automobile or the like, the combination of driving means comprising an engine and a propeller shaft, a tors onal friction shock absorber operatively connecting the engine with the propeller shaft, said shock absorber comprising a plurality of triangular blocks, radially acting springs nor- .mally retaining said blocks undercompression, operativemeans comprising radially movable stub shafts, and swinging links connected to thestub shafts and constructed to slide certain of said and to compress said springs when the engine is operative-upon the propulsion shaft. GEORGE RAMSEY.

blocks one upon another 

